🗣️ "Influencing Tips From Around the Water Industry and Beyond"

Hosts: Jim Lauria & Adam Tank
Guest: Reese Tisdale | President & Co-Founder | Bluefield Research
Category: 🗣️ Opinion

Podcast’s Essential Bites:

[2:56] “[Bluefield Research is] an organization […] that helps companies and organizations make better decisions when it comes to water [and] wastewater management. That could be municipal utilities, could be industrial organizations, companies, it could also just be the supply chain itself, from the technology vendors to the hardware and equipment vendors to engineering firms down to private equity investors. […] Some would call it market research, others might call it consulting and advisory, we do a little bit of both, some of it subscription based and some of it is consulting or bespoke.”

[4:28] “[For many, the story of water] is out of sight, out of mind. So the water industry as a whole kind of operates in the shadows. […] And I think […] what's amazing is the story of water […] is the most basic form of what drives or enables our lives, you can't live without it for more than three days. But then on the other end of it, it's so incredibly technical, when you start talking about membranes, or the chemical treatment, or dosing and just all the pipes and networks. But […] I think we're merging into a part of the story for water where, […] the digital players, the big technology, the big brands are getting more involved. And I'm hopeful that the stories will become even simpler, as they get more involved.”

[8:03] “I think Xylem does a pretty good job [in storytelling]. […] They've transitioned to more like a digital company. […] Another firm that I'm really interested in […] is […] 120Water. They’re in the right […] place at the right time […], when you're talking about lead at risk populations, particularly the schools, that's really what they're targeting. […] Telling a story, to the broader audience, […] is what is needed.”

[11:50] “I think the energy space […] has done well [in storytelling], […] more specifically, smart homes or smart thermostats. […] [Water] is pretty complex, because water plays in this weird space in our lives where it is a right, […] but also people think that distribution and supply is free and the infrastructure is free, which is not. But in the energy space, when you look at […] a smart thermostat in my home, […] every month I get an email that says, I received this much energy and […] this is how you stack up to your peers. I think it's not the easiest thing in the world to implement it across the water sector, but I think there's steps and strides being made. I know there's some key partnerships with housing developers, and there's some firms that are out there, not only investing but also developing technologies to provide those sorts of insights.”

[14:02] “Secondly, […] the renewable energy space, when you look at solar and wind [are doing well]. […] I think the advantage it has over the water industry is that […] if you go to a wind farm or a solar farm, you […] can […] see it and you can figure it out. I mean, no one really knows how […] the sun is radiating onto the solar panels, being converted and run through the inverter and […] into the grid. […] It doesn't have to be that complicated, but [people] kind of see it and understand it. I think that's what the water sector needs.”

[14:49] “Lastly, one organization that is a poster child of sorts […] [is] DC Water […]. And somehow [their material] is not very serious sometimes. […] [In] some of the videos they do for their customers, they just do silly things. Because it has to be engaging. And I think that's important. They give tours of the treatment facility, they even have probably [had] a wedding there, [because] they rent out the space.”

Rating: 💧💧

🎙️ Full Episode: Apple | Spotify
🕰️ 24 min | 🗓️ 07/01/2021
✅ Time saved: 22 min

Additional Links:
Water Online
Bluefield Research: Waterline Newsletter